The Real Experience: Strengths and Shortcomings of PCCOE

Overall, the course curriculum at PCCOE is fairly well structured and follows SPPU guidelines while being autonomous since 2022. Curriculum included core theory subjects, lab subjects and project-based learning subjects. Another thing introducted since my second year was MDM(Multi Disciplinary Minor) which forces you to choose a specific subject or stream outside of your chosen branch and expand your repertoire of skills in the same. There is also teachning of other languages such as German and Japanese available in the college after which the college provides opportunities to go to that country and work there as an intern(if you are good enough in the language). The reason I chose PCCOE was because it was autonomous and contained modules that didn't merely focus on marks and actual skill building which is what is required for working in an actual job. Focus on project based learning is also present in the later years. College organises guest interactions, hackathons, internship tie-ups and certification programs. This helps apply theoretical knowledge in practical scenarios. There is also a higher study cell for students that want to get into MS or MTech in any other college. The library is big and contains multiple resources for the required study. Areas for improvement include making some theory courses lesser and focusing even more on practicality than currently it is being done. Difficulty of exams is dependant on subject but broadly speaking, it is moderate and if sufficient effort is taken even starting a week before the exams, then >80% can be scored but this is dependant on subject. If lectures are attended attentively, most of the work is done so there isn't a need to mug up answers for no reason.

PCCOE provides a strong focus on industry exposure and experential learning through structured internship programs coordinated by the training and placement(T&P) cell and individual departments. Students are encouraged to take part in internships in the 3rd year and the final year so that it may serve as a stepping stone for their job success. Companies offering internship include Accenture, Philips, KPIT, Capgemini, most with no stipend but if given is also something like 10000 per month. The experience of the internship is far more important. Some startups from Pune's Hinjewadi and Baner IT hubs are also known to recruit interns for web development, machine learning and digital marketing projects. Internship projects are designment to both test the candidate and provide a reasonable challenge while making sure the candidate learns something from their projects. Each project is concluded with a project presenation and a report submission, both of which solidify the important skills required to survive in the corporate world.

The college has a dedicated Training and Placement(T&P) cell and has regular recruitment drives that work to place students in companies where they will be values highly. Each year, 600-700 students are placed from all the branches. More than 300+ companies visit but the ones that hire are limited such as TCS, Capgemini, Infosys, Tech Mahindra which generally are mass recruiters that look for employees that will work for 3LPA or 4.5LPA. The highest packages go to about 30 to 40 LPA domestic and 61 LPA foreign but it is very rare to get a placement like this and requries considerable effort on the side of the student as well. Average package is 7 LPA for CS/IT branch; 5 LPA for electronics and telecommunications branch; 4 LPA for mechanical. My plan after getting the degree is working for 1-2 years while simultaneously pursuing masters.

Year-wise fees paid is approximately 1,45,000 per year and it does not increase significantly every year. During the course, exam fee is availed every year once which is approximately 3500 rupees. Below is mentioned the approximate fees for open category for my current year: Tuition Fee: 125000 Development fees: 18000 Eligibility Fees: 680 University Fees: 1385 Student Activity Fee: 1000 ASYI: 701 For OBC, the fee is half of the above fee. For SC/ST, the fee is 3000 something rupees overall. Scholarships are available either only for students with a <6lpa or <5lpa family income per year or if they belong to any category. There is also a certain merit requirement but I am not aware of it as I have not availed any scholarship.

Social atmosphere in the college is very unlike other colleges. For one, there is an extremely strict policy against any kind of ragging,bullying or harassment and it is very dutifully enforced. Students from different regions interact in friendly manner. There are multiple clubs such as Solarium, Red Baron, Maverick, Automatons, etc. that deal with different areas and build their own devices/models to participate in competitions. There is a festival called Swartarang which is for all year students and organised every year and includes both singing, dancing and other performances. There is a first year exclusive technical event called Spectrum that is both organised by first years for first years. NSS PCCOE is a major social group that carries out various camps, be they blood donation camps, or sessions on important social issues and historical figures.

Hostel had a different management when I was living there but it might have changed a little. There's 3 people in one room, one fairly large bed for each, a chair for each, a large table for each. There is a private attached bathroom with solar powered hot water almost 24 hours. There is an AC in the room and if there is any complaint, the query can be put on app and it will be resolved very quickly. In case of a medical emergency, the wardens are always ready to call an ambulance(there is a specific button for the same). Meal quality is okay. Taste is good but after repeated eating gets monotonous. I have currently rented a PG near gurudwara chowk approximately 1.5 km from college

I came to PCCOE because it offered me the best balance. Most students come to the college through the MHT-CET. There is a 10% bracket open for JEE students as well but I personally came from MHT-CET. In MHTCET, cutoffs can go as high as 99 percentile for CS/IT branches. For my branch, cutoff was 97 and it has increased since. I chose this place becasue it provided a good balance for my working environment. There is also a certain percentage alloted to management students costing anywhere from 10 lakhs to 50 Lakhs depending on the branch for which admission is required. I applied to COEP, PICT, VIT, PCCOE, MMCOE, VIIT, PVG, etc. COEP and PICT were not in my books as my score was too low. I'm glad I didn't get VIT because they merged with VIIT last year and that caused both their average placement as well as average everything to go down. This college proved to be the best bargain between an objectively good college and my marks.

Faculty to student ratio is roughly 1:60 for a classroom lecture type of environment and 1:15 for a lab-based lecture. Most of the faculties are approachable but some faculties might be a bit on the strict side. Prof. Pranjal Jog is the best faculty for the subject BEEE and Prof. Dinesh Kute is best faculy for mathematics. These faculties are approachable and help others readily. Others include Prof. Archana Bhamare, Prof.Mahadev Kadam, etc. No professor I strictly hated but two professors who I would consider "strict" and "demanding" are Prof.Ajit Patil and Dr. Ashok Suryawanshi. Both teachers are extremely qualified in their respective specialties and thus expect a lot of effort from the students they teach. I wouldn't say I disliked them but the demanding nature of their work made it exhausting to function sometimes. Recently, we used to have mid-terms but they were removed as part of the new education policy. Now there are three main exams for any theory course, the Formative Assessment(1 and 2) and the Summative Assessment(basically end-term). The Formative Assessment is able to be done in multiple methods and isn't always a paper-pen test. It might be a presentation or an open-book test or an online test or an assignment. The summative assessment is taken at the end of the semester and it is the paper and pen exam. For the Lab courses, there's two evaluations, TW(Term Work) and Practicals, both having half weightage. Term work refers to completion of the file, project work and attendance criteria and practicals refer to actual demonstration of the working of any one of the experiments performed throughout the semester. The course curriculum is quite relevant compared to non-autonomous colleges. Few students fail to clear the exams for whom a re-SA is organised, where they try to pass again. If they fail here as well, the subject is considered a backlog. The college provides a safety net.

I haven't yet participated in an interview so I cannnot reasonably answer the questions pertaining to the interview process but from what I have heard from my seniors, I can say a few things, namely: There is a cutoff of 6.5 or 7 CGPA for certain companies, based on their prestigiousness and their willingness to accept new employees. If this cutoff is not satisfied, then you are considered unqualified for the interview. After the cutoff, eligible candidates are given an aptitude test which leads to either the direct interview or a GD leading to an interview. For GD, most of the topics are about subjects which have a lot of differing viewpoints. The point of a GD isn't to see whose point is right but merely to see how well you can defend your point and convince others of the same. For the interview, I would recommend doing lots of mock interviews, both professionally and with your friends/classmates informally so that you can be better prepared for the actual one.

There is a gym in the 13th floor of the hostel. There's a curfew for girls(they can't stay in campus after 9:30pm or 10pm) but otherwise there's places that can potentially be waited. The cafeteria is a major gathering hub for most of the students but since there's a curfew, there's not much going on inside the campus itself. Libraries and other areas close at 6pm. The only area open is the reading hall and the team areas(red baron, solarium, automatons, etc) The locality is safe at night but depends where you wander around. Nobody will mug you or steal things from you but there might be catcalling a few km from college(again depends on what area you go but most areas near college are safe)